Romantic Circles Gallery
Gallery Editors:
Theresa M. KelleyJacob Leveton
The image shows a man lying on a bed, his hands folded in a gesture of prayer. He faces the upper left corner of the picture, where two angels descend towards him on a stream of light. In front of... Author: Drelincourt, Charles 1816 |
This line engraving depicts Cox’s Perpetual Clock, item number 47 in the Cox’s Lottery catalogue and one of Cox’s “star exhibit[s]” (Greater London Council 62). Much of the description of Cox’s... Author: Cox, James c. 1774-1775 |
At the center of this page an unknown artist has painted in watercolor two pink roses growing from a single stem--one almost in full bloom, the other just beginning to bud—and entwined it... |
This image, Plate 16 of Bell's illustrations, depicts the inner ear. Bell describes it as such: "These are the mastoid cells. They are thought to strengthen the effect of the sound, by reverberating... 1830s |
"Fig. 1" depicts a piece of coral shaped like a hand, while figure "2" features a glass tumbler that appears partially petrified. 1791 |
A young man, seated with a long rifle on a rock, wears a dark jacket and light trousers. A horn is strung around his neck and a brimmed hat lies at his side. He is addressed by a woman with a large... Author: Grellmann, Heinrich Moritz Gottlieb 1807 |
“Plate III” features four illustrations of rational recreations involving optics and illusions. Figure 1 illustrates the refraction of light through water in a vessel. Figure 2 diagrams alterations... Author: Hooper, William 1774 |
Engraver: Daniell, Thomas 1795 |
Two groups of men drag rowboats over a rocky “reef,” which seems to be serving as a dam between one body of water (placid-looking) and another (which appears to be the sea). A strong curving line... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1828 |
c. Early 19th century |
This image, like Cavallo’s image of the process for inflating hot air balloons, was a popular element of accounts of balloon in late eighteenth-century print culture. Its focus on the means by which... 14 January 1784 |
Dorothy George describes this print:
A complicated piece of machinery fills the centre of a room in a fashionable establishment; an open door (r.) leads into a shop where, in the... 1828 |
This image, Plate 18 of Bell's illustrations, depicts the semicircular canals of the ear. Bell further describes the image: "The cochlea is named by its similitude to the shell of a snail. It is the... 1830s |
The artists of the Royal Academy sit in a semicircle, in two tiers, with sketch pads and pencils, facing a female model posing nude on a stage. Most of the men look at the model, while others draw or... 1811 |
This image gives a view of a fork in the road, along which pedestrians and carriages travel. The road is lined with two-story buildings; hanging meat in a window and large signs suggest a commercial... Author: Repton, Humphry Collaborator: Repton, John Adey 1 February 1816 |
1793 |
1778 |
Abraham kneels on a flat plain before three winged angels who stand conversing among themselves. Some hills and trees stand in the distance, and the sky is furrowed with thick, wavy lines that... 1782 |
This scene illustrates an important episode from the Hindu epic Ramayana. In this epic tale, Rama and Sita, who lean against the red-cushioned throne, return to the capital city after... 1750 |
These images depict the European landscape in 1832 as shaped by a Laacher See eruption. In the upper left corner, a farmer is plowing his field with the help of a mule. The village of Eich is... Delineator: Hibbert-Ware, Charlotte Author: Hibbert, Samuel 1832 |
Cliffs, presumably near New Weir (spelled “New Wear” in the title), stretch upward, taking up most of the left half of the print. In the foreground, at the foot of the cliffs, is a small house. A... Delineator: Cooper, Robert Bransby Author: Bloomfield, Robert 1830 |
1786 |
The ruins of the Castle of Las Navas stand at the top of a hill that crests at the very center of the composition. This focal point is flanked on both the right and left registers with dense foliage... Author: Swinburne, Henry 1808 |
In his A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines, Andrew Ure provides a lengthy explanation for the mechanical workings displayed in this simple line-drawing. He begins by describing its... Author: Ure, Andrew 1839 |
Satan and Jesus are silhouetted on the right at the edge of a cliff. A serpent hangs from a cliff on the left. Cities and rivers are revealed far below them, from the bottom of the print to about 2/3... Illustrator: Turner, Joseph Mallord William 1835 |
This image presents the same view as the first in the gallery, with some alterations (the over-slip attached to the illustration constituted by these two images has been lifted). We still have a view... Author: Repton, Humphry Collaborator: Repton, John Adey 1 February 1816 |
During the latter part of their honeymoon in 1837-38, Hannah Palmer and her husband Samuel, also a painter and a follower of William Blake, spent much time sketching at Pompeii. For this view, she... 1838 |
1770 |
This image comes from a text called, Illustrations of Natural Philosophy, which depicts the many properties of air. The central images feature a rendering of all of the highest mountain ranges... 10 December 1850 |
The façade of a brick structure—with a sidewall jutting out to form a kind of corner—and a tree with a serpentine trunk take up the right half of the oval-shaped image. Light shining through the... Author: Gilpin, William 1800 |
This image depicts a battle between the French and the Austrians. The Austrians are situated primarily on the left side of the bridge while the French are on the right. The Austrians are wearing... Delineator: Cruikshank, George Author: Combe, William 28 November 1814 |
Dr. Syntax sits on the right-hand side of the back row in the pit, alongside a critic and a wit (Combe 223). He and his fellow theater-goers face the unfolding drama on the stage: two men battle over... Delineator: Rowlandson, Thomas Author: Combe, William 1 May 1812 |
A crew rows their boat away from the viewer and towards the mouth of a river in lightly choppy seas. A man standing in back steers with the rudder oar. A sand beach extends on the left, while bluffs... Delineator: Back, Sir George 1836 |
1824 |
This image depicts an octave and variant systems of tuning, or "temperament." The octave is represented by the circumference of the circle. Author: Young, Thomas 1800 |
The most intense aspects of the rage for ballooning had subsided by the late 1780’s, but balloons remained popular throughout the nineteenth century. This image appeared as part of a humorous 1845... Author: Mayhew, Horace 1845 |
Goodrich Castle sits atop a massive hill, which is partially covered in trees (to the left of the ruins) and partially eroded (bare rock forms the base of the hill directly below the castle). To the... 1782 |
Two men attempt to haul a boat (one other man inside) to shore in a storm. A variety of ships out to sea appear lashed by the wind and waves. To the right of the image there is a house on the shore... 1823 |
The image depicts a momument, inscribed with an epitaph, in two parts: the topmost figure appears to be the top of a momument, while the figure below it may be the base. The upper part is decorated... 1834 |
This image depicts a confrontation between an American and a British ship, each displaying their national flag. The flag of the British ship, on the left, is upside down. Both ships have tattered... 1831 |
This illustration depicts a rough image of Earth, which is shown floating in black space that grows misty near the edges. Europe is white, while everything "east," as well as Australia, is colored a... 1839 |
This page of watercolor painting and cut paper work is found in an album compiled around 1822 and 1823 in honor of a certain Miss [Louisa?] Gilman. At the page’s center is a footed vase, classical... |
A native “Hindoo” woman is portrayed carrying three pots of water on her head as she descends down to the river. The viewer is presented with a voyeuristic gaze of her backside; the implied motion of... Engraver: Taylor, William Dean 1836 |
At the forefront of the image is a horse-drawn buggy carrying a cannon, which is stuck in the snow. Two horses appear to have been pulling the buggy; however, one of them has fallen over. The other... Delineator: Cruikshank, George Author: Ireland, William Henry 1828 |
In this etching, a young woman and man who are courting make music together. The woman plays a harp and leans over to read the music from the music book that the young man is holding. They both... 1805 |
This image provides multiple illustrations of skulls and famous busts, providing measurements for each by which organ size can be determined. Note especially the famous political figures, as well as... Author: Fowler, Orson Squire 1847 |
A ship is tipped towards the viewer, almost completely submerged by a wave crashing over it. Only the main mast, part of a second mast, and a sliver of the deck rise above the tumultuous water. Men... Illustrator: Turner, Joseph Mallord William 1835 |
On a page located near the halfway point of an album that was kept between 1827 and 1841 by a Miss Catharine Eliza Lowe, several lines handwritten in black ink accompany a blue ribbon and a... |
The image depicts a stone cenotaph, erected in a garden. Papworth’s skill in drawing is conveyed by his close attention to detail. The trees are depicted in different shades, and some appear to be in... Author: Papworth, John Buonarotti c. March 1822 |
Dr. Syntax visits the home of a Lord for dinner. Seated in large chairs around a large circular table are three other men, one of which is Sir John as the accompanying text names. They are all well... Delineator: Rowlandson, Thomas Author: Combe, William 1 May 1812 |